The battles at the Steffeck hoop in the driveway bend the rules of the sport, but build the foundation for basketball stardom.

Sami and Ashley Steffeck started honing their games in one-on-one contests there, growing a special toughness only siblings can bring out.

“It’s very competitive, very physical,” said Ashley, now a junior guard at Fossil Ridge High School. “There’s some cheap shots.”

“The most physical basketball games I’ve ever played are the one-on-ones in the driveway,” said Sami, now a sophomore guard at South Dakota School of Mines.

It’s the special sibling bond. They destroy each other in the driveway, but are the first call each makes to vent, seek advice or share good news.

They’re constantly leaning on each other and, just like any younger sibling, Ashley tries to take everything Sami did and improve on it.

And she’s having fun doing it.

Sami starred at Fossil Ridge, graduating in 2016. Her senior year was Ashley’s freshman season, where Ashley was a solid contributor on the team Sami led.

As a sophomore, Ashley took over as the main scoring force for the SaberCats. She led the team at 15 points per game, including a 35-point outbreak against Valor Christian.

That set a school record for points in a game. Whose record did she break? Sami’s, of course.

She called Sami in the locker room after the game to gloat a bit. Then she took Sami’s nameplate off the record wall in the Fossil Ridge gym and gave it to her sister as a Christmas present.

It’s all in good fun.

But big sister can take credit for teaching Ashley the ways, so "really, it's my record again," Sami says with a laugh.

“She’s taught me pretty much everything,” Ashley says in agreement.

The sibling rivalry is really a duo of full support. They talk after almost every game and Sami glows with pride at the star player her sister has become.

Ashley’s scoring has dropped this season (from 15 to 12 per game) and that’s on purpose, but she can still score in bunches as evidenced by her 26 points in a 75-47 demolition of No. 40 Rangeview in the second-round of the Class 5A playoffs Friday night.

Steffeck's doing a little bit of everything and letting the supreme depth of the No. 8 SaberCats (18-5) take over as they hunt a deep playoff run. The mix showed Friday, with Steffeck's scoring complimented by 11 SaberCats scoring in the game.

“That was the difference from last year. I feel like I was more of the big scorer,” Ashley said. “This year everyone is scoring, everyone on the team can be a scorer. At the beginning of the year it kind of took me off my game, but I think that it’s been better. The flow is so much better.”

Steffeck is about to enter the key recruiting summer in her pursuit of college opportunities, which she’ll have plenty of with coaches attracted by her basketball IQ. She’s doing so after a season of taking over Fossil Ridge’s record book with her all-around play.

She leads the SaberCats in points (12), rebounds (6), assists (2.7) and steals (3.8) per game. She now holds single-game school records for points (35), assists (11), rebounds (17) and free throws made (16). She also holds Fossil Ridge’s single-season steals (106) record and was part of team points scored and points allowed single-game records.

She’s had her share of big moments, maybe most notable was the game-winning 3-pointer to take down No. 1 Highlands Ranch earlier this season.

The driveway battles have turned into the sisters watching from afar knowing in so many ways the success of one of them is a credit to the other.

“We had a game, we were watching our boys team play when I saw (the game-winner) on Twitter and I got so excited. I started showing everyone, I made sure everyone on my team saw what happened because I was just so proud of her and so excited,” Sami said. “She’s taken big steps, improving her game in all aspects and becoming one of the best players in Colorado.”

Follow sports reporter Kevin Lytle at twitter.com/Kevin_Lytle and at facebook.com/KevinSLytle.